


Beat of Your Heart

by ArisuShanti



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Band, Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Bartender Keith (Voltron), Bassist Hunk (Voltron), Drummer Shiro (Voltron), Guitarist Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Singer Lance (Voltron), band!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-06-21 22:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15568101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArisuShanti/pseuds/ArisuShanti
Summary: "Support your brother, and his shitty indie band!" Shiro teased, poking Keith in the shoulder with his drum stick. Keith let out a sigh."I'm here, aren't I?" he replied, settling himself in one of the crowded front row seats that Shiro had reserved for him. It gave him perfect view of the stage and the lone mic stand that stood in the centre of it."Which I thank you for that." Shiro smiled, following his gaze to the stand. "And by the way, keep your eye on our lead singer.""Why?""You'll see."---Keith does not like indie music whatsoever. But he’s willing to change his mind, especially if it came to the Paladins’ heartthrob, flirty lead singer, Lance McClain.





	Beat of Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I had a dream about this, so I decided to write it. enjoy.

Now, don’t get Keith wrong, he had nothing against indie music. As in, he didn't hate it with a fiery passion, similar to how people absolutely despise country music. He just didn’t like it that much.

Ever since he was a kid and was growing up, he was surrounded by rock and hip hop.

The orphanage he was in had limited resources. Well, they had a TV and everything, with silly cartoons and movies for the kids to watch. But in terms of music all they had was a radio and some old CD’s that someone donated to them. So, that was the only stuff he listened to. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Bon Jovi, Missy Elliot, LL Cool J. That was what he knew and what he loved. 

So, once he was adopted by the Shirogane’s at age 10, he was introduced to a whole new scope of music. And he liked it. 

Punk Rock, Alternative Rock, R&B, Rap, Pop, Reggae, Disco. Music became his life and soul. He even enjoyed god forsaken country music, as hated as it was. He loved it all. There was never a moment where he didn’t have his earbuds in. His music got him through the toughest of times. He hadn’t come across a genre that he didn’t like. 

Until one day, Shiro introduced him to indie music. 

Keith just couldn’t do it. He absolutely could not. He tried so hard to enjoy it, but he just did not like it. The confused and disappointed frown on Shiro’s face when Keith gave him a sour look when the song finished, reflected his own mood perfectly.  

You might be wondering, why? Why did he not like it? Well, he had asked himself the same thing. Whenever he tried to come up with a solid, genuine reason, his mind went blank. He just didn’t like it.

He still loved all music in general, but whenever his playlist radios on Spotify recommended an indie song, he found himself pressing the thumbs down button and skipping it. Every single time without fail. But don’t get him wrong, he didn't hate it. 

So, naturally, when Shiro told him that he had joined a band to be their drummer, Keith was ecstatic. 

Playing instruments had never been Keith’s thing, but Shiro on the other hand was amazing at any percussion instrument he got his hands on. When he heard that Shiro joined a band, he was not at all surprised. 

“Matt made it awhile ago and convinced me to join,” Shiro explained, settling in the seat in front of Keith, putting down his plate of bacon and eggs on the table. 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? And I didn’t know Matt played an instrument,” Keith commented, shoving his mouth full of Cheerios and milk  

“Yeah, I wanted to surprise you. Also, he doesn’t. He’s the lead singer.” That had Keith raising his eyebrows. 

"Matt can sing?” Keith asked. Shiro chuckled and shrugged.

“That's what I said, he is a man of mystery. His little sister Pidge is the lead guitarist. Hunk is our bassist.” Shiro began on his own food, stabbing his fork into a piece of turkey bacon and taking a bite from it. “You remember those two, right?”

Keith vaguely recalls them. Matt and Shiro have been friends since highschool, so he would always see him around their house. He remembers when they went to a party at the Holt’s house for family and friends, and that was when he met the small Katie Holt and the lovable Hunk Garrett. 

Pidge was probably only twelve at the time and still in middle school, while Keith was already in his first year of highschool. She still had long hair at the time. She was pretty nice at first, but then they brought out Mario Party and her true form was revealed.

Hunk was also there as well. He had been terrified of Keith, since he was taller than Hunk by two inches. Also because that was around the time he was in his hardcore emo phase and glared at anything that moved. Poor Hunk. 

“Yeah, I do.” Keith responded. He followed them on Instagram and occasionally sees a post of the two of them hanging out with their other friend/

“Okay, but there’s two things I need to tell you first, before you get too excited.” Shiro had set down his fork and knife, and was now looking at Keith dead in the eyes. 

Keith gave him a confused look and hesitantly said, “Sure?” 

“First of all, we have a gig coming up next Saturday at Altea Bar. The one you part time in." 

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday he works as a bartender there. Altea usually doesn't have any live bands playing whenever he was there, so he assumed that it was only on the weekends. “That’s great, dude. What’s the second thing?” 

“Our set is entirely made up of indie-pop music.” 

Keith dropped his spoon in his cereal and stared up at Shiro blankly. “You’re kidding me.” 

“I am not.” Shiro replied, completely serious. 

“Did you do it on purpose just to spite me?” Keith frowned, wiping the splash of milk from the spoon that he dropped and picked it up again, getting another spoonful of cereal. 

“I swear I didn’t! We just naturally went in that direction and it sounded good!” Shiro rushed, throwing his hands up in the air defensively. 

“Uh-huh,” Keith teased half-heartedly. Shiro sighed and shook his head, a small smile on his lips.

“Will you still come to our gig?” 

“I’ll consider it,” Keith said.

“Drinks are on me."

“I have considered it for a very long time and decided that I’ll go. Only because I’m a supportive brother.” 

Shiro laughed. “I appreciate it. You should probably get going, by the way.”

Confused, Keith turned his wrist over to check his watch.  _9:00 am_ , it read. Oh no.

“Shit, my morning class is in fifteen minutes!” Keith hissed, dropping his spoon again. He reached down and grabbed his laptop bag that lay on the floor next to his seat, and slung it over his shoulder. 

“Be safe, have fun learning!” Shiro called after Keith’s retreating form. 

"I won't!" Keith wrapped around the dining table and snatched his keys from off the kitchen counter.

"You won't be safe, or you won't have fun?" Shiro asked, sounding a bit concerned. 

"Both!" Keith grabbed his leather jacket and motorcycle helmet, and was out the door.

 ~*~*~

It turned out he was right when he said he wouldn't have fun. They learned about the history of automobiles that day, and to be honest anything that begins with the words 'History Of' is boring. No offense to the history buffs out there, it wasn't his thing. He preferred hands on work not essay writing, which is the main reason he chose automotive technology as his major.

The only interesting part about his morning came directly after class ended when he turned on his phone and checked Instagram. The first thing he saw when he opened up the app was a post from Matt. It was a picture of a plane ticket to Japan; the rest of the information was blurred save for the actual destination. His caption read,  _'Guess who got a new job? Anime girls here I come!'_

Nothing about the post surprised him at all, Matt was always incredibly good at animation and drawing, so the fact that he got a job at an animation studio in Japan was not shocking. The only issue he had was the date that was on the ticket. It was for tomorrow. 

Keith quickly packed up his laptop into his bag and filed out of the classroom, opening up his messages to text Shiro.

 

 **Keith** **  
** matts leaving? 

Shiro responded not even 10 seconds later.

 **Shiro** **  
** Apparently. This was a last-minute thing that happened, even he found out today. I was about to call u to tell u.

 **Keith** **  
** what timing. what about your dumb indie band? whos going to sing then?

 **Shiro** **  
** Pidge and Hunk say that they know someone. We're going to have a practice tonight, so I can meet them.

 **Keith** **  
** are you going to be late? what's for dinner

 **Shiro**  
I believe in u.

 **Keith** **  
** i hate you

Keith sighed, walking up to his parked motorcycle and popping his helmet on. Shiro knew how much he hated cooking, not to mention how  _bad_ he was at it. For once, he was thankful that it was a Monday, because that meant he was working, which in turn meant he could get some food from the bar and take it off his paycheck. 

He started up his bike and it roared to life satisfyingly, causing some girls walking by to turn around and gawk. Keith shoved his phone in his bag and flipped the visor of his helmet down, backing out of his parking space. The girls who had stopped to watch were now staring at Keith and whispering to each other, giggling a bit.

As he passed by, one of the girls waved at him with a flustered smile. What was the deal with straight girls and their obsession with guys who ride motorcycles? Out of politeness, Keith gave her a small nod of acknowledgement and drove away. Behind him, he could hear their hysteric giggling slowly fade out of earshot. 

When Keith got home, all he did was work on his essay that he had been assigned to that day (and watch YouTube), since he had no other classes to go to. By the time he had finished, it was already 8:30pm. Altea Bar would be opening soon, meaning he had to get there before his shift so he could help set up the tables and such.

He sighed, removing the glasses that he wore while around the house and rubbed the bridge of his nose, attempting to get rid of the impressions his glasses made in his skin. Quickly, he went to his closet and grabbed his uniform. Black dress shirt, black jeans, and a red tie. 

Before he left, he went into the washroom to put in his contacts. This is what he got for staring at his laptop so much. Putting them in, he blinked up at himself in the mirror. His hair was getting long and he hadn’t washed it in a couple of days, the ends of it sticking in odd directions. 

Keith ran his hands through his hair and sighed, getting a hair tie from the counter and tying it up. His bangs fell into his face, but his untameable ends were at least secure. He shrugged, and grabbed his keys, going out the door.

He got in his bike and drove for five minutes, coming to a stop in front of a black building with the words ‘Altea Bar’ in neon purple cursive. 

Keith pushed the doors open and was instantly greeted.

”Ah, Keith, there you are! Right on time!” A woman in a purple floral dress stepped forward, white apron in her arms that she extended out and handed to him. “Help with the chairs, will you?” 

“Hello to you too, Allura.” Keith nodded with a small smile, taking the apron from her arms to tie it around his waist. 

“Oh, sorry. Hello, Keith, can you set up the chairs?” Allura apologized, then repeated her question.

Keith let out a huff of a laugh. ”I was kidding, don’t fire me.” He began to get to work in taking the chairs down from on top of the tables.

”Please, you know I would never. You are our best bartender.” She winked at him playfully, causing Keith to roll his eyes. 

He went around the room, taking the black metal chairs down from the small round tables that were placed around the room. The lights were a fairly dim purple, giving the room a nice calm aura. A small stage sat slightly raised in the very front of the room, opposite to the bar which was on the other side of the room. 

“Ah, Shiro’s band is going to be playing on Saturday. Are you excited?” Allura asked from behind him, noticing that he was staring at the dark and empty stage.

Keith nodded. “Yeah, you could say that.” 

“I bet you’re very proud of him!”

”I am.” A small smile creeped onto his face that he didn’t try to suppress.

"Matt is the singer, right?" Allura asked.

"Not anymore, he got a job in Japan and is leaving tomorrow." Keith shrugged, turning away from the stage to face her. Allura's eyebrows were raised.

"Are they still going to play? I was looking forward to it!" She said, frowning.

"Shiro said he's meeting Matt's replacement tonight. They're a friend of Pidge and Hunk."

"Oh, well that’s splendid!" Allura sighed in relief, smiling. She turned her wrist over to check her watch and gasped aloud, startling Keith a bit.

"What's wrong?" he asked, mildly concerned.

"One minute! Quickly, get behind that bar!" Allura said frantically, rushing away and towards the door. Keith honestly had no idea why she was so set on opening exactly on time, but to each their own he supposed. 

Following instructions, he walked over to the bar and got in his station, waiting patiently for the doors to open. Altea was usually pretty busy, so Keith had to mentally prepare himself for what was to come. Only the weirdest of people came to a bar on a Monday night at 9:30pm. 

Allura opened the giant doors made of tinted glass, and Keith saw that there were already a few people who had been waiting outside, all of them entering.

Keith sighed, cracking his knuckles as he looked to all of them who were approaching the bar. "What can I get for you?"

 ~*~*~

It was close to the end of his shift and everything was going smoothly. Well, it was, until _he_ walked in.

Before that, it was just a normal night. People coming in after work to get a drink, Friends coming in to hang out. There was one particular group of girls that seemed to be celebrating a birthday, but even they were pretty tame. Everything was peaceful, or as peaceful as you can get at a bar. Keith was enjoying it. But that enjoyment was short-lived.

"Hey, bartender! Give me the best shit that you got!" A tall, tan man burst through the doors, immediately yelling out his obscure order to Keith as he scanned the room. 

Keith groaned. He knew exactly the type of guy this was. Some dude looking to start some trouble and blame it on how drunk he is, while hitting on innocent girls. 

"Anything on your mind?" Keith asked as politely as possible. The man slid onto one of the bar stools easily and looked up at the shelf of liquor behind Keith, analyzing what was on it, then looking back to Keith.

"What do you like?" he asked, a small smirk on his lips as he leaned over the bar. Keith blinked. No one usually asked for his opinion, instead ordering whatever they wanted, as they should.

"Uh, an Old Fashioned, I guess." Keith shrugged.

The man's playful smirk grew into a full-fledged smile, his shockingly perfect white teeth showing. "I'll take one."

"Bourbon or rye?" Keith asked, already grabbing the glass from off the shelf and adding the sugar in it.

"Bourbon," he responded.

Keith nodded and got to work, expecting him to turn to the girl that was drinking alone a couple of stools away from him. Instead, the man kept talking to him.

"You know, I'm actually celebrating tonight," he said. Keith glanced up at him. The dim light made it a bit hard for him to see, but he could tell that his eyes were filled with pride when he said that.

Keith hummed in response, putting some Angostura bitters into the glass with a splash of Sprite.

"I just joined a band today," he continued, when Keith didn't bother to ask what he was celebrating. That had Keith perking up a bit, and the man seemed to pick up on his slight rise to attention.

"You in a band?" he questioned, propping his elbow up on the bar to rest his chin in his palm. He looked at Keith with an air of curiosity that unsettled him a bit.

Keith shook his head. "My brother is."

"Cool. One of my band members has a sibling that he never stops talking about, his little baby brother, he says." he chuckled. "It's kind of nice to hear."

"Uh-huh," Keith hummed absent-mindedly, grabbing a knife on the side and an orange. He used the knife to peel a portion of the skin off.

"I've always wanted to be in a band. It just seemed like a cool experience to have," he said. "And to make it even better,  _I'm_ the lead singer." He pointed at himself with his thumb to accentuate the statement. 

"That's great," Keith mumbled, finishing the drink off by adding the piece of orange into the glass.

"The name's Lance, by the way." The man introduced, the same smirk back on his lips.

"Here's your drink," Keith said instead, sliding his glass forward. He had personal rules he needed to follow. By rules, he meant one singular rule. 

Lance's expression faltered for a second into a frown. "Thank you," he said, sounding a bit disappointed that Keith didn't tell him his name, but not wanting to press.

He sipped at his drink for a minute, before he was talking again. "I thought bartenders were supposed to listen to people and then console them."

"You're mistaking me for a therapist," Keith replied in monotone.

"Oh, are they not the same thing?" he asked, jokingly. 

"Therapists give you helpful advice to solve your problems. I give you alcohol," Keith answered without hesitation, deciding he'll give him what he wanted and talk to him.

That had Lance genuinely laughing, his eyes crinkling up into a wide grin. The sound had Keith almost smiling. Almost. 

"You're nice to talk to," Lance commented after he finally stopped laughing. Keith gave him a confused look. 

"I've barely said anything, though."

"That's the point." 

Now it was Keith's turn to laugh. It wasn't as loud and boisterous as Lance's, but a small chuckle that had his shoulders shaking lightly. Lance seemed to take that as a win.

"And he finally cracks a smile," Lance teased. Keith rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

"I smile all the time," Keith retorted with a frown.

"Hey, bartender! Can I get another one of these?" A man at the end of the bar called to him, waving his empty glass in the air. Keith nodded and started preparing it for him.

"Oh, really now? Prove it." Lance said, taking another slow sip of his drink, looking at Keith over the rim of his glass.

"Say something funny," Keith responded, pouring different ingredients into his cocktail shakers, starting to shake the drink together.

Lance chuckled. "Touché, touché." He considered what he was going to say for a moment, before smiling. "So, a man walks into a bar-."

"You're kidding." Keith stopped shaking the drink for a moment to stare at him.

"Hang on, hang on!" Lance insisted, laughing. "So, a man walks into a bar."

"Alright," Keith said slowly in an unsure tone. He resumed in shaking the drink. 

"And he was there to celebrate. His initial intentions were to get tipsy, then try to hookup with some cute girl that he saw inside," Lance said.

Keith nodded, pouring the drink he just mixed into a glass, walking over to the man that had ordered it and handed it to him. When he returned, Lance continued. 

"So, as he walks into that bar, he sees some cute girls and begins to walk towards them. But then, out of the corner of his eye he sees the bartender and thinks to himself,  _'Damn, that guy is hot! Screw everything else, I'm getting his number!'"_  Lance re-enacted, watching Keith's expression carefully. 

Keith froze for a second and looked up. Wait, was this about him? 

"Isn't that funny?" Lance smiled, bringing his glass up to his lips again to take another drink. Keith watched his Adam's apple bob and gulped. 

"So, uh," Keith's throat felt really dry. "Did the man ever get the bartender's number?" 

"I guess we'll find out." Lance shrugged, resisting another smirk by biting down on his bottom lip. He grabbed his glass by the rim and shook it a bit, the ice cubes clinking together. "Can I get another?"

Keith nodded silently, his eyes wider than usual. He grabbed the empty glass from his hand, his fingers brushing against Lance's.  

 _Shit, shit, shit._ Keith quickly put the empty drink in the sink next to him and grabbed another from the rack behind him, beginning to make his drink again. Lance never took his eyes off of him, watching his movements like a predator stalking his prey. After a minute, Keith couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you flirting with me?" Keith asked, incredulously. This seemed to be a night of first's, because this also has never happened to him before.

"Do you like it?" he asked in return, and Keith hated how his heart swelled when he said it.

"You don't even know my name," Keith countered, getting the Angostura bitters again.

"Then tell me." Lance kept looking at his eyes, trying to get eye contact, but Keith avoided it.

"If I do then we won't be strangers anymore," he replied, keeping his voice apathetic and keeping his eyes glued to the drink he was making.

"What if I don't want to be a stranger anymore?" 

That had Keith looking up. He looked completely serious, his eyes intense as he looked at him. Keith shook his head, turning away.

"How do you know I'm not straight?" Keith almost laughed at himself for saying that. The concept of him being straight is so foreign now, but Lance didn't have to know that. 

"Well, are you?" he asked, obviously knowing the answer to that.

"No."

"Then what's wrong?" 

Keith sighed, his hands pausing with what they were doing. He honestly had no idea. There was a hot guy flirting with him in a non-asshole-ish way, and he was saying no. There had to be something wrong with him. Instead of responding, he stayed silent and finished up Lance's drink, handing it to him without a word.

"Is it something I said?" He frowned. Keith felt kind of bad, because he was honestly pretty nice. 

"No, that's not it-," he started to say, but Lance cut him off.

"Is it because I'm ugly?" he asked with a gasp. Keith looked at him, blinking. He couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"What, no. You're not ugly. Like at all. The opposite of that, in fact." Keith said, without thinking. Before he could say that he meant that in an objective way, Lance was already jumping at the compliment.

"Oh, you think I'm hot? Well, thank you, you too." That sly smirk was back on his face, and Keith felt like he was falling.

He tried to think of a retort to defend himself, but drew a blank. Instead, he scoffed and rolled his eyes

"I'm serious, you know," Lance started, seriously. "You're really really really hot."

Keith almost choked at the comment. Did this guy have absolutely no shame? He was very thankful that the purple lighting was so dim, or else Lance might have actually been able to see Keith's flushed cheeks. He had to get it together. He shouldn't be falling for this random stranger whose original intentions were to have a drunk one-night stand with some girl.

He picks up an empty glass that was nearest to him and grabs a cloth, polishing the glass.

His silence has Lance continuing, "Seriously hot. Even in this dim ass lighting, I can see it."

He hated the way his words made his heart rate pick up.

"Like, gorgeous."

"What are you trying to accomplish here?" Keith finally gave in, setting the cup down harder than he should have.

Lance shrugged, giving him another blinding smile. "A name to match the face?"

Keith let out a sigh of defeat. He had absolutely no idea why he even indulged Lance in the first place, but at this point it was too late to go back now. Normally, he would completely ignore loud, obnoxious guys like him, but there was something different about Lance. Maybe it was his naivete talking or the fact that he hadn't had sex in half a year, but for once he was willing to give in. He was willing to break his  _one_ rule that he set when it came to people.

  _‘Don’t get attached, don’t tell them your name.’_

“You’re really annoying,” Keith said, stalling.

“It’s part of the charm.”

“What charm?”

Lance clutched his heart dramatically, pretending he got shot. “Ouch.”

“Okay, fine.” Keith conceded, leaning forward on his elbows to get close in to Lance’s face. His eyes widened as he closed in, his mouth hovering a few inches from his lips.

“My name’s- “

 _“Keith!”_ Allura interrupted him, moving towards him to clasp him on the shoulder. “Your shift’s up!”

Keith flinched back, surprised expression on his face, and looked up at her. He checked his watch, and it was indeed time for him to leave. Allura smiled at him, but when she looked at his face, her smile faltered. She tilted her head, then turned towards Lance who was sitting stunned.

“Oh no, did I interrupt something?” she asked apologetically.

Keith shook his head. “No, you didn’t. See you.”

He walked off before she could apologize and before Lance could stop him. He disappeared through a door behind the bar, leading to the backroom where he grabbed his leather jacket and keys.

When Keith opened the backdoor employee exit, he did not expect Lance to be standing outside, gawking at his red motorcycle parked against the wall of the opposite restaurant.

Keith sputtered out, surprised. “Wh-…What are you doing here?”

Lance turned away from the bike to face him, panting slightly (probably from having sprinted all the way around the building to the opposite side) “I couldn’t leave without getting your number.”

“I don’t give my number out to strangers” Keith gathered himself and moved past him, taking his helmet from off the seat and putting it on his head.

“We’re not strangers anymore. I know your name now!” Lance retorted.

Keith got on the bike, sticking the key in the ignition and turning it. “That’s true.”

“Here.” Lance fished his phone from his pocket, holding it out for Keith to take.

He considered it for a moment, staring down at his hand. Lance smiled, and Keith’s heart fluttered again. That was not good.

Instead of taking it, Keith flipped the visor of his helmet down. “I’ll see you around, Lance.” And with that, he revved the engine and was riding away down the street

“Wait, no!” Lance called after him, watching his quickly disappearing form speed away and turn onto the highway.

“Shit!” he cursed, kicking the brick wall where Keith’s bike was and bringing his hands up to cover his face in defeat.

**Author's Note:**

> writing a weekly ongoing series is tough, so i decided to start a short and self indulgent band!au.
> 
> follow me on [tumblr](http://arisushanti.tumblr.com/) and [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/arisushxnti/)!
> 
> i also made a fic playlist for this filled with songs that the paladins would play (and some songs that inspire me a lil), listen to it [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/omgitsreynaa/playlist/4AYVGsCDsx6R5tpYAu3QzI?si=2M6li7jmT8mkUXE-iqTtnQ)!
> 
> read my (currently ongoing) klance spy!au fic "Your Trigger Finger's Mine" [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13829913)


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